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Radio Film School and the Importance of Setting Yourself Apart

A common activity among podcasters is to check in to see high their show is ranking (or not) in the iTunes store. Last week I did a search for “filmmaking” in the podcast store, and imagine my sublime surprise when I saw that Radio Film School was the first avatar in the row.

I was over the moon when I glanced down at the Visual Arts rankings to see Radio Film School was #1. And five of our episodes were ranked 2nd through 6th respectively in individual episode ranking.

There’s no doubt that the recent No Film School review about the podcast was the reason for the bump. I consider it a huge blessing that we got that write-up. As I’ve mentioned before, this show is the most challenging project I’ve ever undertaken, and it’s deeply rewarding to have the hard work pay off.

I think this is also a case study for the power and importance of setting yourself apart. My #1 selling point for the show is that it’s the first and only filmmaking podcast in the vein of radio documentary shows like “This American Life” or “99% Invisible.” It struck a chord with the audience and I think that’s what made it something NFS thought was worth writing about.

What are you doing in your business to set your product or service apart? Is there a noticeable and objective difference in what you produce and/or how you service your clients that one can easily highlight?

Still Need Your Help!

As wonderful as the No Film School “bump” was, it was just that…a bump. Right now the show is enjoying a 15 minutes of fame that won’t last. So I need your help. Really!

Please take a few minutes to rate and review the show on iTunes or Stitcher.

Haven’t heard it yet, no worries. You can listen to some of the shorter episodes:

Here’s the extended 12-minute preview (think of it as an extended trailer). I’ll give you a gist for what the show is like.

Here’s our first “Short Ends” episode. These are mini-documentary segments that air during the interim weeks of the main bi-weekly show. This episode is all about the debates filmmakers have over what we call ourselves. Very funny, yet poignant.

Coming soon…

A key aspect of the show is getting vulnerable…particularly me. In my “Of Fathers & and Filmmaking” series, I got into some pretty personal territory. I think you will find them moving and profound. There are also some special guests on those episodes that contribute their own eloquence and profundity.